UC-NRLF 


ROCEEDINC 


TOWN  ME.ETIN 


NG,  MASSACHUSETTS 


PRESENTATION  OF  PORTRAIT 


LORD  STIRLING 


GIFT  OF 


Compliments  of 

e. 


^J,  f^rr/    r)  tirfi 


PROCEEDINGS 

tf 
TOWN    MEETING 

at 
STERLING,  MASS. 

JULY  14 
1919 


Presentation  of  Portrait 
of  Lord  Stirling 


e 


7,01 


Printed  privately  by 
Miss  Mary  E.  Butterick 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Photogravure  of  Portrait  of  Lord  Stirling 
presented  to  Town  of  Stirling  by  Miss 
Mary  E.  Butterick  .  .  .  Frontispiece 

Warrant  for  Town  Meeting 3 

Motion,  H.  P.  Kendall 6 

Letter  of  Gift  of  Portrait  of  Lord  Stirling, 

Miss  Mary  E.  Butterick 7 

Unveiling  of  Portrait,  Miss  Mabel  Elizabeth 

Butterick 9 

Song,  Marseillaise 10 

Address,  Arthur  P.  Rugg 12 

Song,  America,  The  Beautiful        ....  65 

Motion,  John  A.  Davis 67 

Vote  of  Acceptance 67 

Motion,  Rev.  F.  T.  Crane 67 

Vote  of  Thanks 68 

Song,  The  Star  Spangled  Banner        ...  69 

Adjournment 70 

Bibliography  Concerning  Lord  Stirling     .      .  71 


Sterling,  Mass., 
July  14,  1919, 
8  o'clock  P.  M. 

TOWN  MEETING 

The  meeting  is  called  to  order  by 
the  Moderator,  Mr.  George  F.  But- 
terick. 

Moderator:  The  Clerk  will  read 
the  Warrant. 

Town  Clerk  Jacob  W.  Longley: 
"Town  Warrant:  Worcester,  ss.     To 
Jacob  W.  Longley,  Warrant  Officer, 
or  either  of  the  Constables    in   the 
Town  of  Sterling,  Greeting: 

"In  the  name  of  the  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts,  you  are 
directed  to  notify  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Town  of  Sterling,  qualified  to 
vote  in  Elections  and  Town  affairs, 
to  meet  at  the  Town  Hall  in  said 


4  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 


Sterling,  on  Monday,  the  14th  day  of 
July,  A.D.  1919,  at  7.30  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  then  and  there  to  act  on 
the  following  article,  viz.: 

"Article  I.  To  see  if  the  Town 
will  vote  to  accept  the  gift  of  a  por 
trait  of  Lord  Stirling,  for  whom  the 
Town  was  named,  or  act  in  any  way 
relative  thereto. 

"And  you  are  directed  to  serve  this 
Warrant  by  posting  up  attested 
copies  thereof,  one  at  the  Town  Hall 
and  one  at  the  Post  Office  at  Sterling 
and  Sterling  Junction  in  said  town, 
ten  days  at  least  before  the  time  of 
holding  said  meeting. 

"Hereof  fail  not,  and  make  due  re 
turn  of  this  Warrant,  with  your  do 
ings  thereon,  to  the  Town  Clerk,  at 
the  time  and  place  of  meeting  as 
aforesaid. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


"Given  under  our  hands  this 
second  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
nineteen. 

"GEORGE  F.  BUTTERICK, 
"CHARLES  F.  ADAMS, 
"JOHN  A.  DAVIS, 

"Selectmen  of  Sterling. 
"A  true  copy,  attest: 

"JACOB  W.  LONGLEY, 

"Warrant  Officer." 


6  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

Moderator:  Is  there  any  action 
proceeding  from  Article  I? 

Mr.  H.  P.  Kendall:  I  move  that 
gentlemen  present  at  this  meeting, 
who  are  not  residents  of  the  Town,  be 
granted  the  privilege  of  speaking. 

(Motion  carried) 

Arthur  P.  Rugg:  Mr.  Modera 
tor,  I  have  been  asked  to  read  the 
following  letter: 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


"To  the  Town  of  Sterling: 

"The  Town  of  Sterling  was  named 
for  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  revolu 
tionary  war.  His  military  career 
was  most  creditable.  His  ardent 
patriotism  is  emphasized  by  his  noble 
lineage.  The  portrait  of  Lord  Stir 
ling,  recently  painted  by  the  accom 
plished  artist,  Miss  Eleanor  C. 
Bannister,  based  on  the  portrait  of 
him  in  Independence  Hall,  is  pre 
sented  to  the  town  of  Sterling  as  a 
token  of  my  abiding  interest  both  in 
the  town  and  in  its  name.  It  is  a 
happy  coincidence  that  the  date  of  its 
presentation  falls  on  the  national 
holiday  of  France.  With  her  sol 
diers  Lord  Stirling  fought  as  comrade 
in  arms  for  the  achievement  of  our  ex 
istence  as  a  nation.  She  is  again  our 
ally.  Her  contribution  to  civiliza- 


8  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

tion   in   the   present   great  war  has 
made  all  the  future  her  debtor. 
"July  14, 1919. 
"MARY  E.  BUTTERICK, 
"406  Franklin  Avenue, 
"Brooklyn,  N.  Y." 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


Moderator:  The  portrait  will 
now  be  unveiled  by  Miss  Mabel  Eliza 
beth  Butterick. 

(Portrait  unveiled) 


io  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

MARSEILLAISE 

(Sung  by  chorus  under  the  direction 
of  Miss  Christine  E.  Burpee) 
Ye  sons  of  France,  awake  to  glory! 
Hark!    Hark!    what    myriads   bid 

you  rise! 
Your  children,  wives,  and  grandsires 

hoary, 
Behold  their  tears  and  hear  their 

cries ! 
Behold  their  tears  and  hear  their 

cries! 

Shall  hateful  tyrants,  mischief  breed 
ing, 

With  hireling  hosts,  a  ruffian  band, 
Affright  and  desolate  the  land, 
While  peace  and  liberty  lie  bleeding? 

To  arms,  to  arms,  ye  brave!  Th' 
avenging  sword  unsheathe! 

March  on,  march  on!  all  hearts  re 
solved  on  victory  or  death. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


II 


Moderator:    We  will  now  listen  to 
an  address  by  Hon.  Arthur  P.  Rugg. 


12  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

Address  by 
ARTHUR  P.  RUGG 

Mr.  Moderator  and  Friends: 

No  gathering  of  American  people 
on  the  fourteenth  of  July  can  fail  first 
to  pay  a  tribute  of  affection  and 
respect  to  the  republic  of  France. 
Most  of  us  learned  last  year  for  the 
first  time  that  the  fourteenth  of  July 
is  the  national  holiday  of  France. 
Then  all  over  this  country  celebra 
tions  were  held  on  that  date  in  honor 
of  our  gallant  ally.  The  dominant 
note  of  those  meetings,  the  moving 
spirit  of  America  twelve  months  ago, 
was  one  of  courage  and  greeting  in  a 
common  cause,  a  cause  which  we  all 
had  faith  to  believe  would  triumph, 
but  which  in  that  hour  we  had  no 
certain  demonstration  would  eventu 
ate  in  our  victory. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  13 

Today  we  meet  to  celebrate  a 
victory  won,  the  greatest  victory 
for  the  cause  of  human  freedom 
that  the  history  of  armed  conflict  has 
known. 

As  you  will  recall,  the  fourteenth  of 
July  is  Bastille  Day.  It  is  cherished 
in  France  because  on  the  fourteenth 
of  July  there  fell  the  castle — the 
prison — of  the  Bastille.  Nothing 
could  mark  more  pointedly  the  differ 
ence  between  the  people  of  the  United 
States  and  the  people  of  France  than 
the  source  and  nature  of  our  two 
national  holidays.  The  Fourth  of 
July  denotes  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence.  It  signifies  a  formal 
statement  of  the  principles  on  which 
we  believe  the  future  government  of 
mankind  depends.  It  was  a  decla 
ration  of  the  purpose  of  all  the 


14  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

people  to  rule  and  to  be  secure  in  cer 
tain  inalienable  rights  and  a  declara 
tion  that  these  principles  are  the 
only  principles  on  which  the  race  can 
progress. 

Bastille  Day,  on  the  contrary, 
means  chiefly  a  creation  of  the  imagi 
nation.  The  Bastille  was  a  prison. 
It  typified  to  the  French  people  the 
despotism  of  the  kings  under  whose 
heels  their  fair  country  had  been 
ground  for  centuries.  The  des 
truction  of  the  Bastille  was  the  work 
of  a  mob.  The  deaths  which  came  on 
that  day  resulted  from  the  broken 
word  of  the  officer  at  the  head  of  that 
mob.  Although  he  had  given  his 
pledge  of  honor  that  no  blood  should 
be  shed,  blood  flowed  almost  like 
water  in  the  streets  of  Paris  on  that 
first  fourteenth  of  July.  Yet  that 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  15 

day  has  been  seized  upon  by  the 
imagination  of  the  French  people  and 
spiritualized  as  the  emblem  of  free 
dom  and  equality  and  fraternity,  and 
of  release  from  despotism.  I  believe 
it  would  have  been  impossible  for  the 
children  of  the  Puritans  to  have  trans 
formed  such  an  event  and  to  have 
idealized  it  and  made  it  a  national 
holiday  significant  of  the  aspirations 
of  a  great  nation.  The  day  on  which 
the  Bastille  fell  has  become  the  na 
tional  holiday  of  France. 

France  was  our  ally  in  the  revolu 
tion.  We  would  have  had  a  far  harder 
struggle  to  have  achieved  our  inde 
pendence  but  for  the  aid  of  the  armies 
of  France.  And  the  service  which 
she  rendered  to  us  at  that  time  is 
embodied  and  envisaged  in  the  name 
of  one  man.  We  scarcely  ever  recall 


1 6  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

Rochambeau  or  De  Grasse,  but  we 
always  think  of  Lafayette.  It  was 
his  name  more  than  any  other  which 
aroused  the  American  people  toward 
sympathy  and  ultimate  alliance  with 
France  in  this  recent  titanic  struggle 
now  drawing  to  its  close.  This  war 
has  disclosed  depths  of  endurance 
and  shown  heights  of  heroism  among 
the  French  people,  the  existence  of 
which  we  in  America  had  scarcely 
dreamed.  They  have  not  only  mani 
fested  dauntless  courage  but  they 
have  borne  sufferings  untold  with  a 
spirit  of  hopefulness  which  has  elec 
trified  mankind.  We  now  know  the 
French  people  not  only  as  lovers  of 
art  and  patrons  of  literature,  but  we 
know  them  as  willing  to  suffer  to  the 
last  drop  of  blood  of  the  last  French 
man  of  France  in  defense  of  country 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  17 

and  to  suffer  with  a  smile  and  a  cheer. 
That  spirit  has  magnified  France  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  It  has  espe 
cially  endeared  the  people  of  France 
to  the  people  of  America. 

I  ask  your  indulgence  while  I  read  a 
few  lines  of  tribute  which  Theodore 
Roosevelt  only  a  short  time  before  his 
death  paid  to  France: 

"France  embodies  all  of  loveliness 
and  all  of  valor.  Beauty  is  her  hand 
maiden  and  strength  her  shield 
bearer,  and  the  shining  courage  of  her 
daughters  has  matched  the  courage 
of  her  dauntless  sons.  For  three  and 
a  half  terrible  years  she  has  walked 
light  of  heart  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow.  Her  body  is  in  torture, 
but  her  forehead  is  alight  with  the 
beauty  of  the  morning.  Never  in  all 
history  has  there  been  such  a  stead- 


i8  Proceedings  of  'Toivn  Meeting 

fast  loyalty  in  the  doing  of  danger 
ous  duty,  such  devotion  to  country, 
such  splendor  of  service  and  of  sacri 
fice,  and  great  shall  be  her  reward,  for 
she  has  saved  the  soul  of  the  world." 
On  this  day  in  Paris  there  has  been 
the  Parade  of  Victory.  For  the  first 
time  since  the  shame  of  France  in 
1871,  when  the  legions  of  Germany 
trampled  her  under  foot,  soldiers 
have  been  marching  under  the  Arc  de 
Triomphe.  Our  fellow  countrymen, 
our  brothers,  our  own  flesh  and  blood, 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  have 
joined  with  the  Allies  of  France  and 
Great  Britain  in  celebrating  the  vic 
tory  of  civilization  over  barbarism  by 
this  day  marching  under  the  Arch  of 
Triumph.  This  day  will  be  memora 
ble  in  the  annals  of  the  international 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


relations  of  France  and  the  United 
States. 

There  is  peculiar  appropriateness 
for  us  here  in  Sterling  to  be  able  to 
honor  Lord  Stirling,  for  whom  our 
town  was  named,  on  this  fourteenth 
of  July.  He  was  associated  with 
Lafayette.  He  was  a  comrade  in 
arms  with  Rochambeau  and  with  De 
Grasse.  And,  therefore,  it  is  most 
fitting  that  we  should  celebrate  on 
this  day  the  presentation  of  this  beau 
tiful  portrait  of  the  man  for  whom 
this  town  was  named. 

The  query  naturally  comes  to  the 
mind  of  a  New  Englander,  "How  do 
we  know  that  the  town  of  Sterling 
was  named  for  Lord  Stirling?"  He 
spelled  his  name  "Stirling,"  and  we 
have  for  one  hundred  and  forty  years 
spelled  our  town  name  with  an  "e" 


2O  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

instead  of  the  first  "i."  Doubting 
Thomases  may  well  say,  "Are  we 
certain  that  the  name  was  not  chosen 
from  the  standard  of  sound  money 
the  world  around  instead  of  from  the 
revolutionary  general?" 

I  think  the  proof  is  plenary  that 
our  town  of  Sterling  bears  its  name 
because  of  Lord  Stirling.  In  the 
first  place,  that  is  the  record  of  his 
tory.  Peter  Whitney,  a  minister  of 
Northboro,  wrote  the  first  history  of 
Worcester  County.  That  history 
was  published  in  1793,  twenty-two 
years  after  the  naming  of  the  town, 
and  he  says  in  that  book — written  so 
near  the  time  of  the  naming  of  the 
town  that  it  was  quite  possible  for 
him  to  have  talked  with  those  who 
were  present  and  knew — that  the 
town  was  named  for  Lord  Stirling. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  21 

In  1824  Isaac  Goodwin,  who  was 
a  lawyer  of  distinction,  a  historian 
and  antiquarian,  once  a  President  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society, 
and  who  was  the  author  of  perhaps 
the  best  history  of  Sterling,  says  that 
it  was  named  for  Lord  Stirling.  He, 
too,  wrote  within  a  period  of  time  after 
the  naming  of  the  town  when  it  was 
quite  possible  for  him  to  have  con 
versed  with  those  who  participated  in 
the  interesting  event  of  naming  the 
town. 

Moses  Sawyer,  whom  perhaps 
some  of  the  older  persons  here  pres 
ent  may  remember,  wrote  a  history 
of  Sterling  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  still  to  be  seen 
in  manuscript,  and  he  says  that 
the  town  was  named  for  Lord  Stirl 
ing,  the  general  of  the  revolution. 


22  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

Other  later  historical  authorities  are 
to  the  same  point. 

There  is  tradition,  too,  that  the 
motion  by  which  the  town  received 
its  name  was  made  by  Captain  Ben 
jamin  Richardson — by  the  way,  the 
great-great-grandfather  of  Elizabeth 
Butterick  who  has  just  uncovered  to 
our  view  this  portrait.  She  was  ap 
pointed  by  the  finger  of  fate  as  the 
girl  to  do  the  unveiling  tonight,  as 
well  because  of  that  relationship  to 
the  man  who  voiced  the  desire  that 
the  town  bear  the  name  of  Sterling, 
as  because  she  is  a  cousin  of  the  donor 
of  the  portrait.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  Captain  Benjamin  Richardson, 
who  was  then  chairman  of  the  select 
men  of  Lancaster,  from  whose  terri 
tory  our  town  was  carved,  made  in 
public  meeting  the  motion  that  the 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


new  town  be  called  for  the  nobleman 
general.  Captain  Richardson  was 
a  revolutionary  soldier  who  won 
laurels  on  the  field  of  battle.  He  en 
listed  from  the  town  of  Leicester. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  he  served 
in  some  of  the  armies  which  were 
commanded  by  Lord  Stirling.  It  is 
a  curious  coincidence  that  Lord  Stirl 
ing  had  a  larger  number  of  soldiers 
in  the  revolutionary  war  under  his 
direct  leadership  than  any  other  gen 
eral.  He  commanded  regiments  or 
companies  from  every  state  of  the 
original  thirteen  except  South  Caro 
lina  and-  Georgia.  Therefore  a  large 
proportion  of  the  New  England 
troops  as  well  as  those  from  other 
parts  of  the  country  had  the  privilege 
of  serving  under  him. 


24.  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

Tradition  further  tells  us  that 
Captain  Richardson  advocated  nam 
ing  the  new  town  in  honor  of  Lord 
Stirling  because  he  not  only  served 
under  that  general  but  shared  his 
tent  during  the  hardships  of  cam 
paign,  and  that  his  generous  and 
courtly  manners  even  in  the  trying  ex 
periences  and  privations  of  war  com 
pletely  captivated  the  heart  and 
judgment  of  the  hard-headed  Wor 
cester  County  captain. 

You  will  see  when  you  read  the 
plate  which  is  on  the  frame  of  this 
portrait  that  the  first  name  is  "Wil 
liam  Alexander,"  followed  by  "Earl 
of  Stirling."  William  Alexander 
was  born  by  that  name  in  New  York 
in  1726,  being  the  son  of  James  Alex 
ander.  His  father,  who  emigrated  to 
this  country  from  Scotland,  was  a 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  25 

man  of  considerable  learning,  a  math 
ematician,  an  astronomer,  and  after 
coming  to  these  shores  he  studied 
law  and  became  one  of  the  first  citi 
zens  of  New  York.  He  was  a  friend 
and  associate  of  Benjamin  Franklin, 
and  with  him  founded  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  which  is  one  of 
the  oldest,  if  not  the  oldest,  learned 
society  in  America.  This  son  was 
trained  in  the  learning  of  his  father, 
mathematics  and  astronomy,  and 
early  went  into  business.  His  moth 
er  was  the  widow  Provoost.  She  con 
ducted  on  her  own  account  a  very 
considerable  commercial  enterprise 
in  New  York  even  after  she  became 
Mrs.  Alexander.  Her  son  was  active 
in  her  employ  and  subsequently  be 
came  her  partner.  When  the  French 
and  Indian  War  broke  out  in  1754 


26  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

or  thereabouts,  he  was  appointed  an 
aide  to  General  Shirley,  who  com 
manded  the  British  forces  at  that 
time  against  the  French  and  Indians. 
General  Shirley  was  recalled  to 
Great  Britain  in  1756  because  of  crit 
icism  of  his  conduct  of  the  war,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Lord  Amherst. 
When  he  returned  to  Great  Britain, 
he  took  with  him  his  aide,  William 
Alexander,  in  order  that  the  latter 
might  assist  him  in  the  inquiry  as  to 
his  military  operations  in  America, 
which  was  conducted  in  London. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  William 
Alexander  went  to  London  in  1756, 
and  remained  there  until  1761.  It 
had  been  common  talk  in  the  family 
before  he  left  Scotland  that  the  father, 
James  Alexander,  was  the  nearest  heir 
to  the  earldom  of  Stirling.  The  last 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  27 

direct  male  heir  of  that  earldom  died 
in  1739,  so  that  the  title,  to  be  kept 
alive,  must  go  to  some  collateral  kin 
dred.  William  Alexander  was  led  by 
his  friends  in  London  to  lay  claim  to 
the  title.  Therefore,  he  went  to  Edin 
burgh  and  took  the  first  steps  for 
establishing  his  claim  to  the  earldom 
of  Stirling. 

Before  I  speak  of  that,  it  will  be 
interesting  to  review  the  earldom  of 
Stirling.  The  first  Earl  of  Stirling 
was  created  by  patents  by  King 
James  the  First  in  1621,  and  renewed 
again  about  1626,  and  by  King 
Charles  in  1633.  William  Alexander 
was  the  first  Earl  of  Stirling.  He 
was  a  man  of  diversified  talents,  of 
great  ability  and  of  tireless  persever 
ance.  Beside  many  other  accom 
plishments  he  was  a  poet.  A  col- 


28  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

lection  of  his  verse  was  printed  in 
1637.  To  a  few  elegant  copies  in 
tended  for  presentation  there  was 
prefixed  his  portrait  executed  by  a 
celebrated  engraver,  William  Mar 
shall.  It  is  curious  that  in  the 
Latinized  inscription  around  this  the 
name  is  spelled  "Sterlin." 

He  became  a  friend  of  King  James 
the  Sixth  of  Scotland,  who  was  later 
James  the  First  of  England,  chiefly 
because  of  his  literary  accomplish 
ments.  King  James  himself  is  most 
familiar  to  this  generation  in  a  liter 
ary  way  because  his  name  is  on  the 
title  page  of  the  standard  version  of 
the  Bible.  He  was  very  proud  of  his 
achievements  in  literature.  Anybody 
who  possessed  literary  talent  gained 
easy  access  to  the  presence  and 
friendship  of  the  King.  The  William 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  29 

Alexander  of  that  day  had  talent  as  an 
author  of  no  mean  order.  He  was  a 
prolific  writer.  He  wrote  many  pre 
tentious  poems,  one  of  which,  it  is 
said,  suggested  to  John  Milton  the 
theme  for  "Paradise  Lost."  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  coloni 
zation  of  America.  He  was  fertile  in 
schemes  for  the  settlement  of  the  new 
world,  which  he  prosecuted  with  great 
vigor  and  persistence.  At  all  events, 
for  some  or  all  of  these  accomplish 
ments  he  became  a  great  friend  of 
King  James  the  First,  who  invested 
him  with  the  title  of  Earl  of  Stirling 
and  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Canada. 

With  the  creation  of  that  title  went 
the  most  opulent  grant  of  territory 
that  ever  sovereign  conferred  or  un 
dertook  to  confer  upon  a  subject. 
It  included  the  whole  of  Nova  Scotia. 


jo  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

It  comprised  all  of  Maine  lying  be 
tween  the  Kennebec  River  and  Nova 
Scotia.  It  embraced  fifty  leagues  of 
the  land  on  each  side  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  River  and  on  all  sides  of 
the  Great  Lakes.  It  even  stretched 
around  Long  Island  and  adjacent 
islands, includingprobablyNantucket 
and  Martha's  Vineyard,  which,  accord 
ing  to  the  patent,  were  forever  to  be 
known  as  the  Isle  or  Isles  of  Stirling. 
That  grant  of  land  seems  ridicu 
lously  extravagant  in  its  extent, 
measured  by  modern  conception,  but 
doubtless  it  rather  indicates  the  ig 
norance  of  the  King  and  the  Council 
and  the  statesmen  of  Great  Britain 
as  to  the  extent  and  wealth  and  ge 
ography  of  their  American  posses 
sions.  Nevertheless,  William  Alex 
ander  was  created  first  Earl  of  Stirling 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  JJT 

in  1621  with  this  princely  grant  of 
land  in  America.  He  was  given  that 
primarily  because  of  his  profound  in 
terest  in  the  subject  of  colonization. 
Among  other  accompanying  grants  of 
power  was  that  of  creating  baronets. 

He  spent  large  sums  of  money  in 
fitting  out  two  expeditions  which  un 
dertook  colonization  in  Nova  Scotia 
and  Maine  in  that  part  of  the  grant 
made  to  him. 

It  may  seem  odd  that  there  never 
had  been  an  Earl  of  Stirling  before 
1621.  The  city  of  Stirling  in  Scot 
land  is  almost  the  oldest  city  in  that 
country.  Nobody  knows  how  early 
it  was  settled,  or  how  early  it  was 
named.  Its  beginnings  are  lost  in 
the  mists  of  antiquity.  Its  magnifi 
cent  hill  was  a  natural  fortress  against 
all  the  methods  of  warfare  of  those 


J2  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

days.  It  was  therefore  one  of  the  resi 
dences  of  the  Kings  of  Scotland.  I 
fancy  that  nobody  could  be  the  Earl 
of  Stirling  except  the  King  until  the 
time  came  when  the  King  removed 
his  residence  from  Stirling,  which 
happened  when  King  James  succeeded 
to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  The 
first  Earl  of  Stirling  thus  became  in 
vested  with  this  grant  of  land,  vastly 
exceeding  in  area  the  kingdom  of  his 
nativity.  The  enjoyment  of  it,  how 
ever,  was  rendered  hazardous  because 
colonists  of  France  sooner  or  later  took 
possession  of  almost  all  of  it  except 
Long  Island.  The  heirs  of  Stirling 
never  enjoyed  the  practical  benefits  of 
it.  Even  the  King  never  was  able  to 
change  the  name  of  "Long  Island"  to 
the  "Isle  of  Stirling"- —fortunately 
for  us,  perhaps,  because  we  might  not 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  33 

have  been  able  to  take  that  name,  if 
previously  it  had  been  attached  to 
Long  Island. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  anybody 
who  thought  he  had  a  claim  to  the 
title  of  Earl  of  Stirling  in  1756  should 
have  undertaken  to  have  established 
that  claim.  The  possible  reward  of 
success  was  dazzling  in  its  richness 
and  sweep  of  power.  Doubtless  the 
main  purpose  of  William  Alexander 
in  asserting  his  claim  was  the  lands 
and  jurisdiction  in  America  which 
he  conceived  would  devolve  upon 
him  with  the  title.  He  was  no  mere 
adventurer.  He  had  acquired  con 
siderable  property  in  his  own  right 
and  by  marriage  with  Sarah,  the 
daughter  of  Philip  Livingston.  That 
claim  was  put  forward  by  William 
Alexander,  the  American-born,  on  the 


34  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

theory  of  Scottish  law  that  the  earl 
doms  of  Scotland  descended  only  to 
and  through  the  male  heirs  and  in 
default  of  direct  male  heirs  went  to 
collateral  male  kindred;  and  while 
William  Alexander,  the  subject  of 
our  consideration  tonight,  was  not  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  first  Earl  of 
Stirling,  he  was  a  direct  descendant  of 
an  uncle  of  the  first  Earl  of  Stirling. 
He  was  represented  by  Alexander 
Wedderburn  as  chief  counsel,  who 
afterwards  gained  the  highest  pro 
fessional  distinction  open  to  the  bar 
of  Great  Britain  by  becoming  Lord 
Chancellor  under  the  name  of  Lord 
Loughborough.  He  succeeded  in 
proving  he  was  the  nearest  male  rela 
tive  in  the  line  of  male  descent  of  the 
last  occupant  of  the  earldom.  That 
was  so  decided  by  a  jury  convened 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  55 

according  to  the  forms  of  law  in  Edin 
burgh  in  1759.  It  was  called  the 
Jury  of  Service.  While  I  am  not  wise 
touching  such  matters,  so  far  as  I 
understand  it,  this  was  a  somewhat 
peculiar  proceeding.  It  is  instituted 
in  chancery  and  the  precept  is  di 
rected  to  a  judge  ordinary.  The  jury 
consists  of  fifteen  persons  who  are 
sworn  to  act  faithfully.  The  object  of 
their  inquiry  is  to  ascertain  whether 
the  claimant  is  the  lawful  heir  of  the 
deceased  peer.  The  verdict  with  a 
due  account  of  the  proceeding  signed 
by  the  chancellor  of  the  jury  and  by 
the  judge,  called  the  "retour",  is  filed 
and  recorded  in  chancery.  When 
these  steps  are  completed  in  regular 
form  the  title  is  established.  Lead 
ing  men  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  were 
summoned  as  jurors.  The  history 


J<5  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

of  the  title  and  the  evidence  showing 
that  William  Alexander  was  the  right 
ful  heir  to  it  under  the  law  of  Scotland 
were  presented  to  such  jury.  That 
jury  declared  that  William  Alexander 
was  Earl  of  Stirling,  and  that  was  one 
step — some  claim  the  only  step — at 
any  rate  an  important  and  essential 
step — necessary  to  establish  his  title. 
William  Alexander  was  advised,  how 
ever,  that  he  ought  to  apply  to  the 
King  for  a  confirmation  of  his  title  to 
the  earldom,  and  so,  although  he  im 
mediately  assumed  the  title  Earl  of 
Stirling,  he  did  make  application  to 
the  King,  by  whom  it  was  referred  to 
the  House  of  Lords.  This  course  ap 
pears  to  have  been  taken  through  the 
urgency  of  his  English  friends  but 
somewhat  against  his  own  judgment. 
There  was  considerable  delay.  Wil- 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  J7 

Ham  Alexander,  now  calling  himself 
and  being  generally  addressed  as  Earl 
of  Stirling,  after  waiting  two  years 
returned  to  this  country.  Probably 
his  return  was  hastened  because  of  the 
death  of  his  mother,  which  occurred 
in  1761.  After  he  returned  the  House 
of  Lords  of  Great  Britain  adopted  a 
resolution  that  nobody  claiming  a 
title  should  use  it  until  its  validity 
was  passed  upon  by  that  body.  Then 
his  claim  was  referred  to  some  com 
mittee  and  it  was  allowed  to  lapse. 
So  far  as  the  records,  which  I  have 
been  able  to  discover  show,  nothing 
was  done  afterwards. 

A  change  in  the  ministry  followed 
soon  after,  the  whigs  who  were  per 
sonally  and  politically  the  friends  of 
Stirling  being  displaced  by  the  tories. 
The  whig  prime  minister  Bute  was  a 


38  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

Scotchman  and  warmly  attached  to 
Stirling.  Naturally  his  cause  lan 
guished  and  was  neglected  after  the 
retirement  of  so  powerful  a  patron. 
With  true  American  spirit  this 
man  refused  to  abide  by  the  direc 
tion  of  the  House  of  Lords,  that  no 
body  should  use  a  Scottish  title  until 
they  had  passed  upon  it,  and  he  con 
tinued  to  use  the  title  of  Earl  of 
Stirling,  and  was  known  ever  after  by 
that  title.  His  position  was  th^t 
there  was  no  other  claimant  to  the 
title,  that  he  had  established  his 
right  to  it  according  to  the  forms 
prescribed  by  the  law  of  Scotland  and 
had  been  acknowledged  and  treated 
in  public  and  private  for  more  than 
two  years  in  England  as  lawful  pos 
sessor  of  the  earldom. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  39 

He  returned  to  New  York  in  1761, 
and  shortly  afterward  disposed  of  his 
business  and  established  himself  on  a 
great  estate  at  Baskenridge  in  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  where  he  built  a 
residence  befitting  his  rank  as  a  noble 
man  of  the  Scottish  House  of  Lords, 
and  with  an  ample  fortune  main 
tained  this  great  establishment  until 
the  war  of  the  revolution  broke  out. 

He  was  all  the  while  an  earnest  be 
liever  in  the  growth  of  America.  He 
was  much  interested  in  agriculture 
and  corresponded  with  foreign  per 
sons  who  were  wise  in  that  subject.  He 
was  also  much  concerned  in  mining, 
and  was  diligent  in  promoting  min 
ing  and  manufacture.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  New 
Jersey,  an  assistant  to  the  Governor, 
Surveyor  General  of  New  Jersey,  and 


4-O  Proceedings  of  "Town  Meeting 

was  active  in  public  affairs  as  well  as 
in  these  other  ways  to  which  I  have 
alluded.  There  is  every  indication 
that  in  private  affairs  as  well  as  in  the 
general  welfare  he  was  a  man  of  gener 
ous  and  enlighted  views  and  sound 
judgment.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  he  possessed  sufficient  skill  in 
astronomy  to  make  an  observation  of 
the  transit  of  Venus  in  1768,  for  the 
purpose  of  verifying  the  longitude  of 
New  York.  A  manuscript  report  of 
his  observations  of  this  transit  of 
Venus  is  in  the  archives  of  the  Histor 
ical  Society  of  New  York. 

He  was  active  in  fostering  many 
causes  for  enlightenment  and  educa 
tion  of  his  fellow  countrymen.  With 
five  others  he  joined  in  a  donation  of 
"six  hundred  pounds  to  purchase 
books  for  the  people,"  which  was  the 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  41 

foundation  of  a  public  library  in  New 
York.  He  was  for  some  years  one  of 
the  governors  of  Kings  College,  now 
Columbia  University.  This  institu 
tion  was  struggling  with  poverty 
and  he  made  strong  efforts  to  obtain 
from  wealthy  Englishmen  an  endow 
ment  to  place  it  on  a  more  secure 
footing.  He  formed  the  design  of 
travelling  to  the  west  of  our  country 
for  the  purpose  of  making  explora 
tions  and  gathering  information  for 
the  correction  of  the  then  existing 
maps. 

When  the  war  of  the  revolution 
reached  the  point  of  the  battle  of  Con 
cord  and  Lexington,  he  was  elected 
colonel  of  the  Regiment  of  New  Jer 
sey  by  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey. 
He  was  severely  reprimanded  by  the 
Royal  Governor  for  accepting  such  a 


4-2  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

commission,  but  he  replied  with  spir 
it  that  he  thought  it  the  highest 
honor  that  could  come  to  anybody  to 
be  asked  to  lead  the  soldiers  of  a 
people  who  were  oppressed  and  were 
struggling  for  their  freedom. 

He  undertook  the  duties  of  his  of 
fice  of  colonel,  and  raised  two  regi 
ments.  Where  the  men  were  not 
able  to  equip  themselves,  he  armed 
and  clothed  them  out  of  his  own  pri 
vate  fortune. 

Quite  early  in  the  revolution  he 
led  one  expedition  which  stamped 
him  as  a  man  of  enterprise  and  dar 
ing  with  observation  and  quickness 
to  embrace  opportunity.  There  was 
observed  off  New  York  harbor  a 
British  schooner  unable  to  make  the 
port,  and  she  was  supposed  to  be 
signaling  for  the  aid  of  a  British  man- 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  4.3 

of-war,  which  was  at  anchor  in  New 
York  harbor.  Thereupon  Stirling 
seized  a  pilot  boat,  and  with  forty 
volunteers,  armed  only  with  rifles, 
set  out  to  take  this  transport  which 
was  armed  with  six  guns  and  laden 
with  provisions.  With  this  slender 
force  and  meagre  equipment  he  cap 
tured  the  vessel  and  brought  her  into 
port  at  Perth  Amboy  in  New  Jersey 
as  a  prize.  Thus  was  a  soldier  with 
out  the  slightest  pretensions  as  a 
sailor  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  public  at  once  as  a  man  of 
resourcefulness  and  courage.  For 
this  bold  feat  he  received  a  vote  of 
thanks  from  the  Continental  Con 
gress.  He  was  immediately  there 
after  appointed  brigadier  general, 
and  assigned  to  the  defense  of  New 
York.  He  fortified  New  York  and 


44  Proceedings  of  Town  Alee  ting 

built  the  forts  Washington  and  Lee, 
which  constituted  our  fortifications 
there  during  the  revolution. 

After  the  city  of  Boston  was  evac 
uated  by  the  British,  Washington 
came  to  New  York,  and  the  battle  of 
Long  Island  was  fought.  The  battle 
took  place  in  what  is  now  Prospect 
Park  in  Brooklyn,  and  General  Stir 
ling  was  in  command  of  a  body  of 
troops  which  were  sent  to  withstand 
the  onrush  of  British  soldiers  in  order 
to  enable  the  rest  of  the  American 
army  to  escape,  it  being  greatly  out 
numbered  by  the  British  and  in  a  per 
ilous  position.  He  was  then  confronted 
by  a  general  named  Grant  who  had 
been  a  member  of  Parliament  and 
whom  Lord  Stirling  during  his  stay  in 
England  had  heard  say  in  the  House 
of  Commons  that  with  five  thousand 


Sterling)  Massachusetts  4.5 

men  he  would  march  from  one  end  of 
the  American  continent  to  the  other 
in  spite  of  all  opposition.  When  Stir 
ling  was  confronted  with  this  great 
body  of  superior  troops  commanded 
by  this  General  Grant,  he  addressed 
his  soldiers  in  this  wise: 

"Our  enemy  is  commanded  by 
General  Grant,  who  has  made  his 
boast  in  my  hearing  that  with  five 
thousand  men  he  would  march  from 
one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other; 
he  has  his  five  thousand  men;  he 
greatly  outnumbers  us,  but  he  shall 
never  proceed  in  his  march  farther 
than  yonder  mill-pond." 

The  spirit  infused  into  a  body  of 
American  soldiers  by  a  speech  of  such 
vigor  can  readily  be  imagined. 

Washington  looked  on  from  a  dis 
tance  and  saw  the  battle,  and  was 


46  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

deeply  impressed  with  the  valor  and 
skill  of  Stirling  in  making  the  stand 
against  the  British  and  in  holding 
out  so  long  as  to  permit  the  American 
army  to  escape.  His  service  on  this 
occasion  was  of  the  highest  value  to 
the  American  cause.  He  was  cap 
tured  and  was  obliged  to  surrender  at 
the  end  of  this  battle,  but  was  soon 
after  exchanged.  He  was  appointed 
major  general  in  February,  1777.  He 
went  with  Washington  to  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  there  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Brandywine  and  in  the  battle 
of  Germantown  and  then  a  year  or 
two  later  commanded  a  division  in 
the  battle  of  Monmouth. 

There  is  an  interesting  tribute  to 
the  soundness  of  judgment  of  Lord 
Stirling  in  the  fact  that  he  was  ap 
pointed  president  of  the  court  mar- 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  47 

tial  which  tried  General  Lee  for  his 
treachery  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth, 
and  which  brought  in  a  verdict  of 
guilty  upon  all  the  charges.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  court  of  in 
quiry  convened  at  Tappan  in  1778 
to  consider  the  case  of  Major  Andre. 
His  advice  on  the  prosecution  of  the 
war  was  frequently  sought  by  Wash 
ington.  He  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  commander  in  chief  to  an  un 
usual  degree.  There  could  scarcely 
be  more  certain  evidence  of  or  higher 
tribute  to  the  soundness  of  his  mili 
tary  judgment. 

One  of  the  most  important  and 
valuable  services  rendered  by  Lord 
Stirling  was  the  exposure  and  the  con 
sequent  crushing  of  the  so  called 
"Conway  cabal."  During  the  winter 
of  1777-78  Generals  Conway  and 


4-8  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

Mifflin  with  the  active  support  and 
approval  of  General  Gates  planned  to 
secure  the  dismissal  of  Washington 
and  to  have  him  superseded  by  Gen 
eral  Gates,  then  wearing  the  fresh 
laurels  of  the  victory  at  Saratoga  and 
the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  The 
scheme  came  to  the  attention  of  Lord 
Stirling  through  an  aide  of  General 
Gates  during  a  convivial  hour.  He 
immediately  forwarded  the  informa 
tion  to  Washington.  The  signifi 
cance  of  this  contribution  to  the 
cause  of  America  hardly  can  be  over 
estimated. 

Thereafter  Lord  Stirling  was  sent 
to  command  the  Northern  Division 
of  the  army  at  Albany,  a  post  of  great 
importance  because  at  that  time 
there  was  another  attack  expected  by 
way  of  Canada,  and  he  was  entrusted 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  49 

with    the    duty    of    repulsing    that 
attack. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  what  seems  to 
me  an  exceedingly  interesting,  if  not 
a  rather  important,  historical  docu 
ment.  It  is  a  manuscript  letter 
written  by  Lord  Stirling  on  his  way 
to  Albany  to  take  command  of  this 
Northern  Division.  It  is  dated  on 
the  tenth  day  of  September,  1781. 
The  surrender  of  the  army  by  Corn- 
wallis  occurred  on  the  nineteenth  of 
October,  1781,  so  this  was  from  five 
to  six  weeks  before  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis.  It  is  directed  to  Gover 
nor  Clinton  of  New  York,  and  is 
dated  at  Peekskill  which  is  on  the 
Hudson.  Of  course,  any  letter  signed 
by  Lord  Stirling  is  interesting.  This 
seems  to  me  to  be  especially  valuable 


So  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

because  of  the  subject  matter,  which 
you  will  observe  as  it  is  read: 

"Peeks  Kill  September  10,  1781 
"Dear  Sir: 

"I  have  the  satisfaction  to  assure 
you  that  Count  DeGrass  with  28 
Sail  of  the  Line  arrived  the  26th  Ulto. 
in  the  Chasepeak  Bay,  and  the  next 
day  landed  3000  men  on  the  south 
side  of  James  River  in  order  to  form  a 
junction  with  the  Marquiss  La- 
Fayette.  Lord  Cornwallis  was  still 
at  York,  and  his  retreat  either  way, 
I  think  is  completely  cut  off.  Count 
DeGrass  had  taken  a  British  Frigate, 
and  his  ships  entering  the  River  in 
Persuit  of  the  Rest.  General  Wash 
ington's  Van  embarked  at  the  head  of 
Elk  the  7th,  the  whole  it  was  expected 
on  board  the  8th  and  I  hope  are  by 
this  time  near  the  place  of  operation. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


On  his  passage  Count  DeGrass  took 
a  packet  from  Charlestown  on  board 
of  which  was  Lord  Rawdon,  &  Rev- 
ington  acknowledges  that  That  the 
Pegassus  of  30  Guns  &  5  Store  Ships 
are  taken  by  Admiral  Barrass,  who  no 
doubt  is  arrived  with  his  8  Sail  of  the 
Line  in  Chasepeake  also:  The  whole 
strength  of  the  Enemy  is  19  Sail  of 
the  Line  at  Sandy  Hook.  New  York 
in  the  highest  confusion.  All  the 
Troops  embarking,  for  West  Point  or 
Philadelphia  is  the  Word,  but  I  think 
it  more  likely  to  be  for  Halifax. 

"Twenty  Six  Sail  of  the  Enemy's 
Vessels  passed  through  the  sound  on 
Wednesday  last,  made  their  appear 
ance  off  New  London  on  Thursday, 
&  returned  towards  New  York  on 
Friday.  It  is  said  they  had  about 
2500  men  on  board  under  the  com- 


52  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

mand  of  DeLancy.  The  time  is 
critical,  every  moment  we  may  expect 
to  hear  of  great  events,  &  God  Grant 
the  Issue  may  be  as  favorable  as  the 
appearances  seem  to  promise.  I  am 
happy  in  having  an  opportunity  of 
sending  your  Excellency  this  intelli 
gence 

'&  am  Your  Excellency's 

Most  Obt.  Servant, 

'Stirling. 


"!x  am 

"LVJLOST.  VJDU  o< 

Ul 


His  Excellency  Govenr.  Clinton 
"Poughkepsie" 


That  letter  has  never  been  pub 
lished  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
discover  and  is  of  extreme  signifi 
cance  in  showing  the  completeness  of 
touch  which  Lord  Stirling  kept  upon 
all  movements  of  the  army,  even  if  not 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  53 

directly  connected  with  his  own  com 
mand.  It  is  of  exceptional  interest 
because  of  the  number  of  people  whose 
names  are  household  words  in  connec 
tion  with  the  revolution,  which  are 
mentioned — Lafayette,  Count  De 
Grasse,  Cornwallis,  General  Wash 
ington  and  one  or  two  others  of  lesser 
note. 

That  letter  was  written,  according 
to  its  date,  on  the  tenth  of  September, 
1781.  Lord  Stirling  proceeded  to 
Albany  to  take  command  of  the 
American  forces  there,  and  prepared 
with  courage  and  ability  to  withstand 
the  British  attack  which  it  was  ex 
pected  would  be  made  through  Lake 
Champlain  and  Lake  George.  But 
of  course  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
put  a  wholly  different  face  on  the 
aspect  of  the  revolutionary  war.  The 


54  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

expected  invasion  from  the  north 
never  materialized. 

Lord  Stirling  died  at  Albany  on 
January  15, 1783,  in  his  fifty-seventh 
year.  He  was  buried  in  a  church, 
which  was  subsequently  torn  down, 
but  his  remains  are  now  interred  in 
a  cemetery  in  the  city  of  Albany.  He 
left  a  widow  and  two  daughters, 
Mary,  the  elder,  who  married  Robert 
Watts,  and  Catharine,  who  married 
William  Duer.  Descendants  of  both 
these  daughters  are  living  in  this 
country  but  of  course  his  name  is  not 
preserved  among  his  issue. 

There  were  passed  during  his  life 
two  votes  of  thanks  by  Congress  for 
his  achievements  in  war — one  for  the 
capture  of  the  transport  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  and  another 
for  an  attack  by  which  he  captured  a 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  55 

considerable  number  of  prisoners 
several  years  later;  and  then,  on  his 
death,  Congress  passed  another  re 
solve  expressive  of  their  appreciation 
of  his  distinguished  service  and  his 
great  valor,  and  the  extraordinary 
loss  which  this  country  suffered  in  his 
early  death. 

The  dash  and  courage  and  per 
sistence  of  the  true  soldier  were  his. 
It  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  was 
"of  fine  presence  and  of  the  most 
martial  appearance  of  any  general  in 
the  army  save  Washington  himself; 
was  quick-witted,  intelligent,  far-see 
ing  ...  his  example  was  a  perpet 
ual  source  of  strength  and  inspira 
tion"  among  his  troops. 

Immediately  after  his  death,  in  a 
letter  to  his  widow,  Washington 
wrote  these  words:  "It  only  remains, 


$6  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

then,  as  a  small  but  just  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  Lord  Stirling,  to  ex 
press  how  deeply  I  share  the  com 
mon  affliction,  on  being  deprived  of 
the  public  and  professional  assist 
ance,  as  well  as  the  private  friendship, 
of  an  officer  of  so  high  rank,  with 
whom  I  had  lived  in  the  strictest 
habits  of  amity,  and  how  much  those 
military  merits  of  his  Lordship,  which 
rendered  him  respected  in  his  life 
time,  are  now  regretted  by  the  whole 
army." 

No  ordinary  man  could  have 
drawn  from  Washington  such  a 
tribute. 

These  are  the  bald  outlines  of  the 
life  of  Lord  Stirling.  He  began  the 
war  of  the  revolution  a  man  of 
great  wealth  according  to  the  stand 
ards  of  those  days.  His  possessions 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  57 

were  counted  at  over  a  hundred  thous 
and  pounds.  He  left  nothing  but 
debts  at  his  death.  He  had  expended 
his  entire  fortune  for  the  liberation 
of  America.  He  was  unremittingly 
engaged  in  the  military  service  of  his 
country  throughout  the  whole  revo 
lutionary  war.  It  is  the  more  remark 
able  that  he  should  have  embraced  the 
cause  of  the  colonists  with  such  zeal 
and  fervor  and  manifested  such  con 
stancy  of  patriotism  from  the  very  be 
ginning  even  to  the  end,  because  he  was 
a  peer  of  the  House  of  Lords  of  Scot 
land  and  thereby  had  a  right  of  election 
to  the  British  House  of  Lords.  He  was 
allied  by  rank  and  family  with  power 
ful  influences,  with  the  noble  houses 
of  Great  Britain;  and  if  he  had  es 
poused  the  cause  of  the  mother  coun 
try,  he  would  doubtless  have  been 


5#  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

treated  with  honor  and  affluence  com 
mensurate  with  the  social  weight  and 
ability  which  he  possessed.  But  he 
lived  in  America,  he  believed  in  Amer 
ican  institutions;  he  was  American 
born;  he  could  be  no  other  than  a 
devotee  of  the  American  principles. 
His  life  is  an  example  of  the  highest 
patriotism.  Of  course  now  even 
kings  and  kaisers  and  czars  are  at  a 
discount.  We  smile  in  our  republi 
can  simplicity  at  the  desire  of  any 
body  to  possess  a  title  of  nobility. 
But  those  who  lived  in  these  parts  in 
1750  to  1770  looked  at  the  subject 
with  a  rather  different  eye.  When  the 
atmosphere  of  the  country  of  that  day 
is  considered,  when  it  is  recalled  that 
the  colonists  were  loyal,  that  they  did 
not  begin  to  think  of  a  final  sepa 
ration  from  the  mother  country  until 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  59 

the  revolutionary  war  had  actually 
begun — when  we  remember  that  sen 
timent  of  loyalty  and  have  regard  to 
the  family  associations  and  the  social 
distinction  in  which  Lord  Stirling 
was  reared  and  lived,  it  is  cause  for 
honor  indeed  that  patriotism  should 
have  been  the  dominant  motive  of  his 
life,  and  that  he  should  have  given  his 
fortune  and  bared  his  breast  and 
offered  his  life  for  the  independence  of 
his  and  our  country.  He  is  one  of 
the  characters  of  the  revolution 
whose  influence  will  always  be  an 
inspiration  to  the  youth  of  the 
country. 

And  so  we  here  in  Sterling  are 
under  a  special  debt  of  gratitude 
that  we  are  to  possess  this  beautiful 
portrait,  painted  by  an  accomplished 
artist,  to  remind  us  of  the  name  which 


60  Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

as  a  town  we  bear.  In  these  days  of 
photography,  when  almost  everybody 
has  a  kodak,  it  is  difficult  to  appre 
ciate  how  hard  it  is  to  find  a  portrait 
of  even  a  distinguished  man  who 
lived  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
So  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  dis 
cover,  there  are  only  three  portraits  of 
Lord  Stirling.  One  is  said  to  have 
been  painted  by  West.  It  was  in  the 
possession  of  one  of  the  descendants  of 
Lord  Stirling,  Dr.  Robert  Watts, 
who  recently  died  in  New  York.  This 
represents  Lord  Stirling  with  a  merry 
eye,  a  full  and  vigorous  figure  of 
about  forty  years  of  age,  dressed  in 
civilian's  clothes. 

There  is  also  a  miniature,  which  is 
painted  by  somebody  whose  name  I 
have  been  unable  to  learn,  and  the 
precise  location  of  whch  I  have  been 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  61 

unable  to  ascertain,  but  doubtless  it 
is  in  the  possession  of  some  descendant 
of  Lord  Stirling. 

The  third  portrait  is  the  one  on 
which  this  one  upon  the  wall  is  based. 
That  is  in  Independence  Hall  in 
Philadelphia.  It  was  painted  by  an 
American  artist  of  no  great  distinc 
tion,  whose  name  was  Bass  Otis. 
Those  of  you  who  have  visited  Inde 
pendence  Hall  know  that  it  is  full 
of  portraits  of  men  of  revolutionary 
fame.  Some  years  ago  I  inquired  of 
the  ancient  keeper  of  Independence 
Hall  if  there  was  a  portrait  of  Wil 
liam  Alexander  or  Lord  Stirling.  He 
looked  at  me  in  a  dreamy  way  and 
said,  "Stirling  -  -  Alexander  -  -  who 
was  he?  Was  he  a  signer  or  suthin'  ?" 
Of  course,  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  having  been  signed  in  Inde- 


62  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

pendence  Hall,  a  signer  of  that  im 
mortal  instrument  is  paramount  in 
the  minds  of  everybody  there.  But  a 
search  soon  disclosed  the  fact  that 
there  was  a  portrait  of  Stirling  in 
one  of  the  rooms  in  the  Hall.  This 
portrait  is  in  full  military  uniform 
of  a  major  general  of  the  revolution 
ary  war.  It  is  accurate,  I  believe, 
in  every  detail  as  to  the  uniform. 
You  can  judge  of  the  character  of 
the  face  as  well  as  I.  The  artist  is 
Miss  Eleanor  C.  Bannister  of  Brook 
lyn,  who  in  years  gone  by  has  not 
infrequently  been  the  guest  here  in 
Sterling  of  the  gracious  donor  of  the 
portrait.  We  are  under  deep  obliga 
tion  to  Miss  Butterick  for  this  new 
evidence  of  her  wise  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Town.  As  a  Town  we 
are  fortunate  indeed  in  such  a  friend. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  63 

Mr.  Moderator  and  Friends  of  the 
Town,  it  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to 
me  to  be  privileged  to  participate  in 
these  services  and  to  be  able  to  pre 
sent  something  of  the  life  of  Lord 
Stirling.  I  am  afraid  he  is  one  with 
whom  we  of  mature  years  have  not 
been  altogether  familiar.  Reviewing 
my  own  school  days  here,  I  am  sure 
little  attention  was  paid  in  the  pub 
lic  schools  to  the  life  of  Lord  Stir 
ling.  This  is  a  subject  about  which 
the  school  committee  and  the  teach 
ers  of  the  future  may  well  think  a 
little  more  in  detail  than  they  have 
in  the  past. 

As  the  generations  rise  and  pass 
away  the  children  of  Sterling  ought 
to  be  taught  and  to  remember  that 
the  town  has  produced  one  great 
man,  Chief  Justice  Mellen,  whose 


64  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

portrait  hangs  on  this  wall,  and 
that  Lord  Stirling  is  another  great 
man,  whose  name  was  given  to  the 
town  and  whose  portrait  we  here 
dedicate  in  commemoration  of  his 
services  to  our  country. 

We  are  bound  to  realize  that  if 
"we  are  underlings,"  the  reason  is 
not  because  of  the  place  in  which  we 
live,  and  that 

"The  fault ...  is  not  in  our  stars 

But  in  ourselves." 

We  have  a  right  to  say,  with  Saint 
Paul,  that  we  are  citizens  of  no  mean 
town. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


AMERICA,  THE  BEAUTIFUL 

(Chorus) 

O  beautiful  for  spacious  skies, 

For  amber  waves  of  grain, 
For  purple  mountain  majesties 
Above  the  fruited  plain! 
America!  America! 
God  shed  his  grace  on  thee, 
And  crown  thy  good  with  brother 

hood 
From  sea  to  shining  sea! 

0  beautiful  for  pilgrim  feet, 

Whose  stern,  impassioned  stress, 
A  thoroughfare  for  freedom  beat 

Across  the  wilderness! 
America!  America! 

God  mend  thine  every  flaw, 
Confirm  thy  soul  in  self-control, 

Thy  liberty  in  law! 


66  Proceedings  of  "Town  Meeting 

0  beautiful  for  glorious  tale 

Of  liberating  strife, 
When  valiantly  for  man's  avail, 

Men  lavished  precious  life! 
America!  America! 

May  God  thy  gold  refine, 
Till  all  success  be  nobleness, 

And  every  gain  divine! 


Sterling,  Massachusetts 


Mr.  John  A.  Davis:  Mr.  Modera 
tor,  I  move  that  the  Town  of  Sterling 
accept  the  portrait  of  Lord  Stirling 
and  tender  its  thorough  appreciation 
of  the  generosity  and  thought  that 
prompted  the  gift. 

I  think  we  are  fortunate  in  having 
a  friend  who  takes  interest  enough  in 
this  Town  to  decorate  the  hall  with  a 
portrait  of  Chief  Justice  Mellen  and  a 
portrait  of  Lord  Stirling,  and  I  hope 
it  will  be  an  inspiration  to  us  to  make 
the  Town  of  Sterling  worthy  of  its 
name. 

Voted  Unanimously  That  "the 
Town  accepts  the  portrait  of  Lord 
Stirling  with  thorough  appreciation 
of  the  thoughtful  generosity  which 
prompted  the  gift." 

Rev.  F.  T.  Crane:  Mr.  Modera 
tor,  I  always  have  enjoyed  the  picture 
of  one  great  man,  and  I  think  there  is 


68  Proceedings  of  Town  Meeting 

nothing  better  fitted  to  add  to  the 
attractiveness  of  the  Town  Hall  than 
good  portraits  that  are  appropriate 
to  the  place.  We  now  have  two 
good  portraits,  and  we  understand 
better  than  we  did  when  we  came  here 
that  the  second  one  is  also  appro 
priate  to  the  place,  and  I  move  that 
we  extend  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Miss 
Butterick,  and  put  it  in  this  form: 

Voted:  That  the  thanks  of  the 
Town  be  extended  to  Miss  MaryE. 
Butterick  for  the  renewed  expression 
of  her  interest  and  wisdom  in  promot 
ing  the  welfare  of  the  Town  mani 
fested  by  the  presentation  of  the 
beautiful  portrait  of  Lord  Stirling; 
and  that  the  Town  Clerk  send  to 
Miss  Butterick  an  attested  copy  of 
this  vote. 

This  motion  was  adopted  unani 
mously. 


Sterling,  Massachusetts  ''  '6$  : 

THE  STAR-SPANGLED  BANNER 

(Chorus) 

Oh,  say,  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's 

early  light, 
What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the 

twilight's  last  gleaming, 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars 

thro'  the  perilous  fight, 
O'er  the  ramparts  we  watch'd  were  so 

gallantly  streaming? 

And  the  rocket's  red  glare,  the  bombs 
bursting  in  air, 

Gave  proof  thro'  the  night  that  our 
flag  was  still  there! 

Oh,  say,  does  that  star-spangled  ban 
ner  yet  wave, 

O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home 
of  the  brave? 


:/o  'Proceedings  of  'Town  Meeting 

The  Moderator:    The  meeting  is 
now  dissolved. 


APPENDIX 

Bibliography  concerning  Lord  Stirling 

The  Life  of  William  Alexander,  Earl  of  Stirling, 
by  his  grandson,  William  Alexander  Duer. 

The  Stone  House  at  Gowanus,  by  Georgia  Eraser. 
History  of  the  United  States,  by  Bancroft. 

The  case  of  Alexander,  Earl  of  Stirling  and  Dovan, 
by  Thomas  C.  Banks. 

Sir  William  Alexander  and  American  Colonization, 
by  Rev.  Edmund  F.  Slafter. 

The  Stirling  Peerage.  Trial  of  Alexander  Hum- 
phrys  or  Alexander,  by  William  Turnbull. 

Vindication  of  the  Rights  and  Titles  of  Alexander, 
Earl  of  Stirling  and  Dovan.  Parts  I  and  II, 
by  John  L.  Hayes. 

House  of  Alexander,  2  vols.,  by  Charles  Rogers. 

Major  General  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  by  Ludwig 
Schumacher,  which  contains  a  full  bibliography. 

19  Princeton  Review,  315  to  336. 

LXIV  North  American  Review,  435  to  459. 


623 


#3537 


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